Welsh Conservatives’ and Plaid Cymru voted against £26 billion for West Wales

Yesterday evening [Tue 4 March], the Plaid Cymru and Welsh Conservative Senedd Members in West Wales have voted against £26 billion of support for communities, services and businesses across Wales.

Plaid Cymru MSs Cefin Campbell and Adam Price teamed up with Welsh Conservative MSs Paul Davies and Sam Kurtz to reject the Welsh Government’s Budget, which included £1.6 billion extra funding, in a vote in the Siambr in Cardiff Bay this evening.

Amongst the measures that Campbell, Price, Davies and Kurtz voted against were:

• An extra £600 million for our Welsh NHS
• Funding for thousands of all-age apprenticeships
• The protection of universal free school meals for primary school children
• £1 bus fares for young people
• Thousands of potholes being fixed, and tens of thousands being prevented by fixing 100km of our roads

When Plaid Cymru got into bed with the Welsh Conservatives to vote against these measures, the Senedd Members showed that their motive is not delivering for the people of West Wales but instead have their eyes firmly on the next election.

They have put politics before the people they are supposed to serve.

Despite opposition gameplaying, and thanks to the Welsh Labour Government, with the support of the Welsh Liberal Democrat Member Jane Dodds, the Budget passed and Wales will feel the benefits of that £26 billion.

First Minister Eluned Morgan said:

“This Budget is packed to the brim with good news. Our largest ever funding settlement from the UK had meant uplifts for every single department – yet still Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Conservatives rejected it.

“The Tories crashed the economy, sent Welsh mortgages and bills soaring and they won’t even try to clean up the mess that their party made. Have they no shame? And Plaid Cymru claim to be the party of Wales – yet they tried to deny Wales of £26bn.

“Last summer, people told me what they wanted from the Welsh Government. Well we’ve listened, we’ve heard and in this Budget, we’re delivering.”

Mid and West Wales MS Joyce Watson said:

“I would like Cefin Campbell, Adam Price, Paul Davies and Sam Kurtz to explain to our constituents in Mid and West Wales why they and their party have turned their back on funding for the NHS, schools, roads, for our local area.

“After the Welsh Labour Government received the largest ever funding settlement in real terms from the UK Labour Government, the people of Mid and West Wales can see the tangible benefits of a partnership in power even if the opposition try to block it.”